The Carlos Beltrán giveaway is over and the Houston Astros are the winners. After spending the offseason recruiting Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, the Astros have found themselves locked in a tough race for the NL Central.
Beltrán brings a flashy glove to center field and some excitement and production to the top of the lineup. Of course, players like him don’t come without a cost. Houston feels closer to Octavio Dotel and future wide receiver John Buck.
The added wild card is that Beltran’s contract expires at the end of this season. If the Astros fail to make the playoffs and also lose their new star center fielder in free agency, this deal could haunt them well into the future.
Kansas City, Beltran’s former team, sent Dotel to Oakland for two prospects, third baseman Mark Teahan and pitcher Mike Wood. The Royals had decided they couldn’t match Beltran’s asking price this offseason and got the best value they thought they could get. These deals often turn out to be very favorable for the team willing to trade current talent for high-potential minor leaguers.
The Oakland Athletics stepped in to make this a three-way deal and filled a huge need by picking a consistent closer. Arthur Rhodes had excelled with other teams as a setup man, but he hasn’t done well closing games for the A’s. Nothing is more frustrating for a starter than pitching hard for seven or eight innings in a close game only to see the win slip away in the ninth. Oakland boasts one of the best rotations in baseball and a solidified bullpen should help them get past Texas and maybe even make a playoff run.
This trade will be seen as a make or break for both Houston and Oakland at the end of the 2004 season. For Kansas City, however, it could be a few years before anyone knows how their 3 new players will pan out. All three teams did well to come up with something that made sense for their situation.